Female students inspired by careers in the built environment
- 15.04.2025
Over 70 girls from schools across Huntingdonshire took part in an event at Alconbury Weald to inspire and empower young women to pursue careers in development, construction and the built environment.
The Make Your Mark event, organised by Master Developer Urban&Civic and supported by the development’s planners David Lock Associates and landscape and ecology experts Bradley Murphy Designs, showcased the roles and skills it takes to create a sustainable new community like Alconbury Weald.
As well as presentations from women in senior positions within the industry and a tour of Alconbury Weald, the students were given an opportunity to create their own virtual community. Using a bespoke software platform, students were asked to consider everything from sustainability and climate change to heritage and ecology, and to design and present their perfect place to live.
The students also took part in a design workshop to help shape the plans for one of the play spaces within Runway Park, Alconbury Weald’s next strategic green space. Ideas included environmentally friendly landscaping to support bees, ponds with stepping stone, picnic areas, different types of sport and play equipment, entertainment space, café/food trucks, bike storage and an information centre with toilets. The design team will take forward ideas from the students into the next stages of Runway Park delivery.
We have some incredible women working on the Alconbury Weald project and across the business and our consultant and contractor community. However, women are still not well represented in the industry. Part of both our community and jobs and skills commitment is to make sure the voices of young women help shape developments.
“We also want the next generation to recognise the opportunities on their doorstep to be part of a sector that literally helps shape the future: from planning, architecture, infrastructure and engineering to landscape and ecology – as well as support roles such as marketing, finance and community development. These are all needed in the industry, and especially in an area with Cambridgeshire’s growth projections.
“It was great to see so much interest and enthusiasm from the students, and we hope that some will continue their relationship with us and our partners, through work experience, placements and further training and career opportunities.
The students came from St Ivo Academy, Sawtry Village Academy, St Peter’s School and Abbey College Ramsey. A student from St Ivo Academy said: “I had no idea how much thought goes into a creating a development like Alconbury Weald and how many different people and skills are needed. I was really surprised at how much space is needed for the different things and how much needs to be considered in the planning stage. It was a fun way to learn, and I really enjoyed using the tablets, creating the collage and visiting one of the play parks.”
The event is one of a number of initiatives to open up opportunities for local people within the built environment sector including working with Constructed Pathways and the CITB under the National Skills Academy for Construction Framework.
